Global warming emissions hit record level in 2018, IEA reports

Smokestacks pollution air qualityThe International Energy Agency reported on Tuesday that global warming emissions reached a record level in 2018, despite efforts in the U.S., Europe, and China to reduce emissions with more sales of electric cars and cleaner power. Greenhouse gas emissions increased faster in 2018 than during any of the past six years. Worldwide, emissions of...

UN global climate report restores hope, lays out roadmap

Smokestacks [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]A new UN report on global climate change isn't quite as dire as one it issued last October. That special report on warming of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) showed that the effects of climate change could become catastrophic by 2040, at least 10 years earlier than scientists had predicted. Another report in December by private energy...

Polar vortex tests viability of renewable power

Honda wind farm in BrazilThere's nothing like a good polar vortex to put the power system to the test—unless maybe it's a summer heat wave. Energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie used the opportunity of this event as a chance to measure demand on the power grid. In a detailed study of power demand during the severest week of this 2019 Polar Vortex, from Jan. 27 to...

Dyson gets serious, charging with AI, Ghosn resigns: Today’s Car News

Path projection system for self-driving carsAmericans are taking climate change more seriously, and a majority think the government should do something about it, two new studies show. A startup company thinks it has a software hack to help electric-car batteries charge faster. And Nissan's Carlos Ghosn has resigned as Chairman and CEO of Renault. All this and more on Green Car Reports. In a...

Most Americans plan action to alleviate climate change

Hurricane Florence approaches U.S. East Coast Sept. 12, 2018There's nothing like hitting people where they live to goad them into action. After a year of record fires in California and floods in Texas and on the East Coast, more Americans are taking climate change seriously—and significant portions are willing to take financial steps to combat it. The first poll, from the University of Chicago Energy...

Lifting the hammer: Germany considers limits on Autobahn speeds

2020 Mercedes-Benz EQCEfforts to curb global warming have led Germany to propose limiting speeds on its famous Autobahns. Facing heavy fines from the European Union if it fails to meet greenhouse-gas reduction targets, the country's committee on the future of transport put forward a series of draft proposals that includes limiting speeds on currently unfettered...